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BERKELEY – No. 7 California opens their 2014 season this weekend, hosting No. 3 Stanford in The Big Meet on Saturday at Haas Pavilion at 1 p.m. PT. The Golden Bears enter this year with new Associate Head Coach Brett McClure, a former Stanford assistant and look to build on their 2013 campaign. This week’s season opener will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network at 1 p.m.

Broadcast NewsBrian Webber (play-by-play) and Tim Daggett (analyst) are the announcers for Cal’s meet vs. No. 5 Stanford. This marks the only time that the Bears will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.

Poll Position2014 GymInfo Preseason Poll

1. Michigan (11) 9. Minnesota2. Oklahoma 10. Nebraska3. Stanford 11. Air Force4. Ohio State 12. Temple5. Penn State 13. William and Mary Illinois 14. Navy7. California 15. Army8. Iowa * First place votes in parenthesesPre-Meet VIP ReceptionPrior to Saturday’s “Big Meet” with Stanford, Cal Men’s Gymnastics fans are invited to attend a special Pre-Meet VIP reception to support and raise funds for the program. This will be a fun-filled day where fans have the opportunity to mingle with Olympians and VIP guests Nastia Liukin, Blaine Wilson, John Macready, Kevin Tan and Sho Nakamori before the meet with catered food. Also included in this package is special VIP seating for The Big Meet. Youth tickets are only $50, adults are $75 and a family ticket is $200. Tickets to this pre-meet event are limited. To purchase tickets, please contact Kevin McCormick at kmccormick@berkeley.edu.Log OnFor fans unable to catch The Big Meet on the Pac-12 Networks this Saturday, they can log on to CalBears.com to find livestats of the event, or follow along live on Twitter @CalMensGym, or look for updates and photos on Facebook at Facebook.com/CalMGymNext UpThe Bears head across the Bay for a rematch against the third ranked Stanford Cardinal on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Burnham Pavilion in Palo Alto.

2014 Team CaptainsAssociate Head Coach Brett McClure has announced that redshirt senior Donothan Bailey and junior Jonathan Liu have been selected as California’s captains for the 2014 season.

Bay Area RivalryThe California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal meet up for the first time this season in one of the most storied rivalries in collegiate men’s gymnastics. Despite posting an 0-7 record against Stanford in 2013, the Bears hold a 127-81-2 record all-time in the series. Both teams are currently ranked among the country’s best, with Stanford coming in at number three nationally, and Cal ranking seventh in the 2014 GymInfo Preseason Poll.

Familiar FacesCal Associate Head Coach Brett McClure is in his first season in charge of the Golden Bears’ program in 2014, but definitely will see some familiar faces in red this weekend. McClure was an assistant coach for the past three seasons under current Stanford Head Coach Thom Glielmi. Many of the student-athletes on the Stanford side were coached by McClure, so he definitely knows what to expect this weekend from the visitors. In addition, Stanford assistant Karl Ziehn is a former Cal gymnast, having competed for the Blue and Gold from 1999-2003

MPSF StrengthThough last season’s national champion hailed from the Big Ten (Michigan), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation boasts four of the top teams in the country, and are poised to produce national contenders again this season. Oklahoma finished as runners up last year, and come in ranked second in the GymInfo Preseason poll, while Stanford is right behind them at third. Cal ranks seventh and Air Force is 11th. The Golden Bears finished third in the MPSF in 2013, and are looking for their first conference championship since 2004.

Youth MovementThe 2014 edition of the California Golden Bears has one common theme throughout the composition of the roster, youth. Outside of captain Donothan Bailey (resdshirt senior), Jeffrey Langenstein (redshirt senior), Christian Monteclaro (redshirt senior) and captain Jonathan Liu (junior), the Bears’ roster is made up of 14 sophomores and freshman (ten sophomores and four freshman). This young and dynamic group is poised to return to the NCAA Championshipsafter missing the team finals for just the first time since the 1999 campaign.

The full 2014 schedule can be found on the team’s page at CalBears.com here.